Key Takeaways
- Roblox (RBLX) shares soared after its Q2 bookings significantly surpassed analyst estimates, and the company provided an optimistic outlook for Q3 and full-year bookings.
- Mastercard (MA) reported stronger-than-expected Q2 net revenue and adjusted EPS, driven by increased gross dollar volume and purchase volume.
- German Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation remained stable at 2.0% year-over-year in July, aligning with expectations but slightly above the EU-harmonized rate.
- New tariffs are set to take effect on August 1, impacting various countries with different rates, including a 50% tariff on copper and reciprocal tariffs against over 50 nations.
Roblox (RBLX) delivered a mixed second-quarter earnings report, with its EPS of -$0.41 missing analyst estimates of -$0.37. However, the gaming platform's Q2 bookings surged to $1.44 billion, significantly exceeding the estimated $1.23 billion and showing a 51% year-over-year increase. This strong bookings performance, a key metric for gaming companies, sent shares up in premarket trading.
Looking ahead, Roblox provided an optimistic outlook, forecasting Q3 bookings between $1.59 billion and $1.64 billion, well above the analyst consensus of $1.34 billion. The company also raised its full-year 2025 adjusted bookings guidance to a range of $5.87 billion to $5.97 billion, surpassing the previous estimate of $5.40 billion. Daily Active Users (DAUs) grew by 41% year-over-year to 111.8 million, and hours engaged rose 58% to 27.4 billion, indicating robust platform health and expanding reach.
Mastercard (MA) reported a strong second quarter, with net revenue of $8.13 billion, exceeding the estimated $7.94 billion, and adjusted EPS of $4.15, surpassing the $4.02 estimate. The payment processing giant's performance was bolstered by a 9% increase in gross dollar volume and a 10% rise in purchase volume on a local currency basis. This indicates continued consumer spending and a healthy payments ecosystem.
In economic news, Germany's Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed that annual inflation held steady at 2.0% in July, matching the previous month's rate and analyst expectations. The EU-harmonized CPI (YoY) for Germany, however, came in at 1.8%, slightly below the 1.9% estimate and the previous 2.0%. Month-over-month, German CPI increased by 0.3%, rebounding from 0.0% in June and exceeding the 0.2% estimate.
Meanwhile, new tariffs are poised to take effect on August 1. These include 10-20% tariffs on seven countries with framework deals, 11-50% "reciprocal" tariffs against over 50 other countries, and a 15-20% global "baseline" tariff for all other nations. Notably, a 50% tariff on copper is also set to be implemented. These broad-ranging tariffs could introduce new complexities to global trade relations.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.